


Driving Lessons

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Father Son Bonding, Gen, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 16:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11317359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: There are so many things Mulder never got to teach his son. This is something he can do.





	Driving Lessons

“We can take Scully’s – I mean Dana’s car. You can drive to the grocery store and-” Mulder mentally ticks off items of his list. He, unlike Scully, is not used to this. Not only does he have to make sure he’s packed everything he needs, no, he has to make sure this child – their son – is well taken care of in the few days they’ll be gone. This is the first out of town case since Will came to stay with them and for some reason all the responsibility lies with him this time. Scully should have figured this was a bad idea.

“But… I don’t know how to drive.” Will, a tall, lanky boy with reddish brown hair, Scully’s eyes and nose, stares up at him, shyly. He’s trying to brush away a few strands of hair that fall into his eyes making him blink furiously. Boy needs a haircut, Mulder thinks. He has so many things to learn, he realizes and sighs, making Will squirm.

“Sorry, I never – my parents – I mean my…” Now it’s Will who sighs in frustration. Mulder, and not for the first time, wonders if the boy is too old to be pulled into a hug. Or if Mulder is still too much of a stranger to do it.

“I thought with growing up on a farm that maybe you'd…”

“I just turned 16,” Will reminds him as if his birthday was something Mulder could have forgotten two days after it happened, “and there never was… with the disease no one and uhm, then I got here and you didn’t uhm. Yeah.”

“So you don’t know how to drive?”

“No.”

“That's… bad.” Will chuckles and nods. Mulder’s mental list goes up in flames; they need a new plan. He considers calling Scully, but knowing her she would call the whole thing off if William has no means of transportation when they’re gone. She didn’t want to take the case in the first place. They need to take it, though. They haven’t told Will yet, but it concerns his late parents. They need to do this.

“I’ll call Skinner and ask him to take you in. You can bring your bike to his place and-”

“What about Daggoo?” That damn dog. Sleeping there in the corner, his ears twitching as if having heard his name.

“Well…” That’s another problem.

“You said I could stay here.” Sometimes, even at 16 years old, William still sounds like a little boy. Right after they took him in, after the demise of his adoptive parents, Scully told him that Will, his son, could pout just as well as he could. Usually they both knew how to work that pout to their advantage. Seeing it now, coupled with Scully’s eyes, Mulder knows he’d do anything the kid asked him to do.

“I did, yeah. This is just really…”

“Bad, yeah. You said that. I’m sure there’s enough food here anyway.”

“What if there’s an emergency?”

“I could take the bike. The next neighbors are only 7 miles away.” Only 7 miles. Mulder is pretty sure that was one of the reasons why he wanted this house so badly when they moved here. The next neighbors are 7 miles away, Scully, we have all of this to ourselves. That was before they had their son back. Before there were more people – and a dog – to consider.

“That’s crazy, Will.” And just like that Mulder has an idea. It’s crazy, yes, and Scully would never approve, no, but he won’t tell her. Neither will Will, he is sure of it.

“You have an idea, don’t you?” The boy asks warily but unable to keep his lips from going upwards in a smile.

“I do, my son. I do.”

*

Mulder hardly ever tells her so but Scully is not a good driver. She drives too fast, she is prone to road rage and she can’t parallel park for the life of her. Their son, it turns out, takes after her in that respect.

“Just hit the pedal carefully, Will.” Mulder tells him in an even voice, his ears ringing. He’s going to have whiplash if Will brakes like that ever again and then he’ll have to tell Scully about this. He’ll have to anyway eventually but he’d prefer not to do if before a four hour flight.

“I thought I did.” The boy’s tongue peeks out in full concentration as he holds the wheel in a death grip. He puts his foot down on the gas pedal and the car jumps a little. Will grumbles something unintelligibly and tries again. This time the car rolls very carefully.

“Ha!” Mulder claps his hand together. “You did it, Will! That’s it!” The boy grins and the car moves faster.

“Take a turn there,” Mulder tells him, “Don’t forget to use the blinker.”

“There’s no one here.”

“Don’t forget to use the blinker.” Mulder repeats and a moment later the soft clucking of the blinker can be heard as Will rounds the corner on a deserted road.

“This is fun.” Will tells him and if there’s one thing Mulder has learned about his son in the months he’s come to live with them it’s that he can’t lie. If the boy hates something, it’s written on his face in bold letters, sung in every syllable of his words.

“You still need to take Driver’s Ed, you know.”

“I know. You think Dana will let me drive her car?” Of course Scully has the better car. Mulder’s is old; the FBI refused to give him a new one. Which, with his track record, makes sense.

“Once you have your license, sure.”

“Nice. We should listen to some music.”

“No, Will. Concentrate on the road.” A small huff but Will does as he’s told. He’s a good kid and Mulder thanks whatever deity that his son grew up like this; safe and loved.

“Oh we’re back already.” Will sounds disappointed as he brings the car to a stop. He turns to Mulder, a bright sparkle in his eyes. “Can we go again? Please? Just one more time?” Mulder knows he needs to pack. Where is your tooth brush, Mulder? Why do you always forget to pack your tooth brush? He can hear Scully already; if it’s not his tooth brush, it’ll be something else. He should take care of all the other things Scully told him about while she’s in the city terminating the lease for her apartment finally. But this is the first time he’s taught his son something; his son now knows how to start a car, drive without crashing into a tree and then park – also without crashing into anything else. Just because of him. Because he taught him how to drive.

“Sure, Will. One more time.”

Will starts the car and hits the gas pedal; gently this time and Mulder wonders if maybe, after all, the kid takes after both of them.


End file.
